The Messenger

Surprise #1: why are the reviews so glaring? You've probably seen the reviews before buying - they are the first surprise. The game just doesn't seem to be anything extraordinary. Sure, it has a solid flow, but how is it different from the gazzilions of retro-platformer knock-offs? Is it really just the “ooh, we're making an homage here *WINK* *WINK*” vibe? Surprise #2: so there are layers to this? It takes maybe 2 hours before the game starts to unravel some of it’s layers. You start to enjoy the mechanics, you get more skills, it’s growing on you. It’s fun and quirky twist on a Ninja Gaiden clone. Not there yet but… Surprise #3: wait, just how much game is in this game? You eventually reach your goal, and suddenly – so much more game explodes in your face. While this is not a huge surprise (the game telegraphs being bigger), the way the game shifts it’s vibe and pacing is very satisfying. Surprise #4: Is this actually challenging? While starting bit to much on the easy side, the game actually has a well balanced difficulty curve. It gets challenging as you get more skilled, right up to the point, where it requires you to utilize your mastery of it's techniques. It’s not one of those games that force you to learn through thousand deaths, but I found the challenge pleasant enough almost throughout. Surprise #5: they were actually hiding a plot here? What starts as a goofy, 4th wall breaking, throwaway plot, suddenly turns into an interesting story. Sure, it’s not Ibsen, but by the end I was actually invested in it. It's really amusing how much plot is withheld only to surprise you with additional layers to it. Surprise #6: so I kinda have to give this game a 5? The game is far from perfect. It has it’s clunks, it has a good few screws loose, I don’t love everything about it – and yet it manages to be such a good indie experience, I can’t imagine myself giving it anything less than 5. This is very clearly a work of passion and the 5 is well deserved.

This game does a great job at capturing the magic of NES and Genesis era games. The Messenger is a classic side-scrolling 2D-platformer where you fight your way through enemies that don’t target you specifically and respawn offscreen. You get to travel through a series of variously themed levels and to fight bosses at their end, then you will unlock the ability to revisit any area virtually at will, to explore a handful of new ones, along with the ability to time travel. In that time-traveling situation the future is represented through the 16-bit mode, with the present being the 8-bit mode. During that second act you’ll be completing various objectives, mostly in the form of finding unique items. Most people, I presume, are going to like the story. It could’ve been a solid quality heroic tale all on its own, but instead it chooses to be forth wall-breaking ironically self-aware, especially in the beginning, and I've never been able to properly appreciate it. It’s far from being the worst offender in this regard and done in good taste, but it still grinds my gears a little. That’s on me, though, and, once again, the non-ironic parts are really good. Also, the well bit gets a free pass. In short, it’s a perfect retro-style platformer you have absolutely no excuse to miss.

Nice retro metroidvania/platformer with not-too-serious plot, with funny but sometimes expectable twists. Skill-based, giving some challenge, but not too hard. Good controls. The skill tree could have had more versatility, but it was OK as-is. The gameplay evolves as you play further, but near the end it kind of falls flat. Or rather, it felt like the game was improving itself all the time, that your mind was already expecting it to get even BETTER, but then you realize you're already at the end game. I guess the game is the victim of its own success. Originally got this for free via Epic. Played it through. Liked it. Then it came here, wanted to support the devs, bought it on sale. Played it again. Still liked it. One of the top 20 (out of ~500) games I've ever played. Highly recommended. Ps. Like the game dialogue itself suggests, the "green chest" really is lackluster. So don't get your hopes up. With how the game portrayed everything else, I was kind of disappointed that it really was so "meh". Just think of it as an extra challenge or completionist achievement.

-BEWARE- Xpadder required Fast paced action platformer that suddenly turns intto a metroidvania halfway through, which hurts the momentum, Also challenging, but not frustratingly so (except for a few sections that will make you want to punch your monitor). The game likes to break the 4th wall and thinks it's funnier than it really is, but is mechanically is solid. Ubnfortunately the game does not support controllers, not even a 5 button mouse, so you better get Xpadder or other key mapping program in order to actually play because keyboard controls are hot garbage. Pretty fun mix of genres, nice retro graphics and music, not perfect, but is up there

If you like retro games, pixel art, chiptunes and difficult platformers, then this is an excellent game for you. Checkpoints are placed a reasonable distance from one another, so you won't have to replay entire levels dozens of times to make it through the game, removing much of the frustration from the original Ninja Gaiden titles. One minor complaint - it doesn't tell you the keyboard controls in the beginning and doesn't have a menu option to rebind keys. I had to tap around to figure out that spacebar = A-button and leftAlt = B-button in the main menu. MouseClick = Sword swing in game, WASD to walk around and Spacebar to jump. The game does tell you about further controls later on. Other than that, The Messenger is a near-perfect retro platformer.